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Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53
14:57

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53

Published on: August 4, 2019

Restoring apoptosis as a strategy for cancer gene therapy: focus on p53 and mda-7

Irina V Lebedeva1, Zhao Zhong Su, Devanand Sarkar

  • 1Department of Pathology, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.

Seminars in Cancer Biology
|March 26, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Targeting cancer involves understanding its genetic roots and overcoming resistance to therapy. Strategies like restoring tumor suppressor p53 and using the mda-7 gene or oncolytic viruses offer new avenues for cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Malignant cells often resist apoptosis, hindering chemotherapy and radiation efficacy.
  • Mutations in the tumor suppressor gene p53 are a common cause of this resistance.
  • Developing novel therapeutic strategies is crucial for effective cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore molecular and genetic targets for rational cancer therapy.
  • To investigate methods for restoring apoptosis in malignant cells.
  • To evaluate novel approaches for cancer cell destruction.

Main Methods:

  • Investigating the role of tumor suppressor gene p53 mutations in chemoresistance.
  • Exploring the forced expression of the melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (mda-7) to induce apoptosis.
  • Utilizing conditional-replicating viruses for tumor-selective cytolysis.

Main Results:

  • Restoring defective p53 function shows potential for re-sensitizing cancer cells to apoptosis.
  • Forced expression of mda-7 offers a promising strategy for inducing cancer-specific apoptosis.
  • Conditional-replicating viruses demonstrate a targeted approach for cancer cell destruction.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding cancer's molecular and genetic basis is key to developing effective therapies.
  • Strategies targeting apoptosis, such as p53 replacement and mda-7 expression, hold significant promise.
  • Oncolytic viruses represent an emerging therapeutic modality for cancer treatment.

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